Exhale Memory Café Collective
An Arts-Based Initiative Supporting Southeast Michigan’s Aging Communities
CultureSource is proud to lead the Southeast Michigan Exhale Memory Café Collective, an innovative program designed to support older adults living with memory loss and their caregivers through arts and culture. With generous funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, this initiative connects Southeast Michigan’s cultural organizations with the tools, training, and financial support needed to launch and sustain memory cafés—welcoming spaces that offer creative engagement, connection, and respite.
View the latest update and see the list of participating organizations. Programming details for 2026 will be shared as they become available.
Why Memory Cafés?
Memory cafés are community-based gatherings that provide safe, inclusive environments for people experiencing dementia or other cognitive changes, along with their care partners. Through storytelling, music, visual art, and more, these spaces foster joy, reduce stigma, and help people feel seen and supported.
Participating Organizations
Anton Art Center
The Anton Art Center’s Memory Café will provide a welcoming, creative space for older adults experiencing memory changes and their care partners to connect through artmaking, music, and conversation. Hosted in the Art Center’s community gallery, the program will feature facilitated creative engagement activities. Supported by trained staff, volunteers, and partners, the Memory Café will foster social connection, reduce isolation, and promote emotional well-being through the power of creative expression.
Belleville Area District Library
Program information to be announced.
https://www.belleville.lib.mi.us/
Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Inc.
Program information to be announced.
Chaldean Community Foundation
Program information to be announced.
https://www.chaldeanfoundation.org/
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Legato Memory Café welcomes people experiencing dementia or other cognitive changes and their care partners/loved ones. This monthly gathering fosters connection and support through social engagement while enjoying light refreshments, followed by an activity/craft (rotates monthly)
https://www.dso.org/events-and-tickets/events/25-26-winter/legato-memory-cafe
Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) Taiko Arts Collective
The Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) Taiko Arts Collective is excited to be joining the SEMI Exhale Memory Cafe 2025 cohort and to bring our Taiko Play Memory Cafe program to our communities. We are committed to making the collective care experience of Taiko arts accessible to all interested participants, including people with memory changes and their care partners. We are grateful to be able to support the well-being, empowerment and enjoyment of all memory cafe participants with the time, space and company to experience music, movement, and merry-making by gathering to experience and play Taiko together.
Jo’s Gallery Cafe LLC
Program information to be announced.
Macomb Symphony Orchestra
The Macomb Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with the Exhale Memory Cafe Collective, presents “The Magic of Music,” a dementia-friendly concert experience designed to foster joy and connection through live symphonic music. This program provides a welcoming and supportive environment for individuals experiencing memory loss, their caregivers, and their families to enjoy the timeless beauty of classical music together. It is a chance to set daily responsibilities aside and reconnect with loved ones in a calming, engaging, and stigma-free setting.
Meet Me With Art
Program information to be announced.
Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit
The MM-O-DD Collab Café is a monthly gathering designed for individuals diagnosed—or not yet diagnosed—with dementia or Alzheimer’s, along with their care partners, friends, and families. This stress-free, welcoming program offers uplifting, in-the-moment experiences that blend design, art, and wellness. Each session features hands-on activities, gentle creativity, and sensory engagement that encourage connection, joy, and self-expression. Grounded in compassion and inclusivity, the Collab Café provides a supportive environment where participants can relax, explore, and be fully present. The program fosters community, reduces isolation, and highlights the powerful role of creativity in enhancing cognitive and emotional well-being.
N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art
Program information to be announced.
Northville Art House
The Northville Art House will host two Memory Cafes each month under the umbrella of “Creative Connections”: one focused on visual arts, and one focused on music. Each session will be organized around a central theme, which may be inspired by current exhibitions on view in the NAH gallery or reflect broader, universal concepts such as family, home, seasons, or holidays. All sessions will incorporate hands-on activities to create a sense of connection among program participants and staff. The workshops will be process-oriented, rather than product-focused, emphasizing self-expression, exploration, and enjoyment over the development of technical skill or finished results.
https://northvillearthouse.org/
Norwest Community Collaborative
The Memory Mosaic Memory Café is a creative wellness program designed to engage older adults experiencing memory changes, along with their caregivers, through culturally grounded, art-based activities. Facilitated by trained teaching artists, each session blends tactile, visual, and narrative elements, such as painting, collage, storytelling, and music, to foster connection, self-expression, and joy. All activities are adapted to accommodate varying levels of cognitive ability and physical comfort, ensuring an inclusive, welcoming space for participants to feel seen, valued, and creatively inspired.
https://www.norwestgallery.com/?srsltid=AfmBOornfNAb_yG8nb7IjElWUuEv6fnPrGWZMmydzUbiEwqZelT92t2A
OPC Activity Center
Program information to be announced.
Paint a Miracle
Paint a Miracle will be providing bi-monthly visual art based Memory Cafes in Rochester, Michigan. Paint a Miracle is dedicated to bringing fine arts experiences to people of all ages and abilities, and our specialty is providing that art making in a supportive and safe environment. We have substantial experience working with individuals with memory impairment, Alzheimer’s, and dementia.
https://www.paintamiracle.org/
Temate Institute for Black Dance and Culture
Program information to be announced.